13 startups get funding to troubleshoot a few of health care's many problems

Socks the Fox is the main character in Sinasprite, a game designed by Litesprite, to help people stay on track with mental health treatment in between visits. The game, which is prescribed and monitored by a clinician, is a tool to provide real-time guidance and mood assessments for patients and providers.(Photo: Courtesy of Litesprite)

Health care's got a lot of problems, and the new class of entrepreneurs from around the country are deepening their ties to Nashville as they try to solve a baker's dozen of the issues plaguing the industry.

First, Jumpstart Foundry listened to hospitals, doctors and insurers about what issues in the system gave them grief then set out to find startups that were trying to solve those exact problems, said Vic Gatto, founder of Jumpstart, a Nashville-based seed stage health care innovation fund.

The list of pressure points topped more than 70 problems after companies, including HCA Healthcare and LifePoint Health, chimed in about what issues they face (Jumpstart signs non-disclosures so competitors can't get information about what plagues others).

"They are very open about what they are facing," Gatto said. "I can't always find a solution, but we find where it hurts and what the challenges are."

The 13 startups, selected from 250 applications, each receive $150,000 and will get intensive work from Jumpstart staff and partners to build operating strength and hone their operations over the next year. The entrepreneurs get introduced to larger, more established companies that might be interested in their product.

The startups are trying to assuage a range of problems, including a temporary living space for people recovering after an organ transplant to a smart pill bottle that helps patients know when to take medicine to an online way to search a doctor's quality ratings.

Here are three startups trying to improve mental health care, seniors' lives and how people buy insurance.

Litesprite

Headquarters: Seattle

Problem: The void between visits to a clinician leaves the patient to manage on their own so sometimes compliance fizzles and the patient doesn't have a real-time resource.

Goal: Create a game in which people can learn positive habits while reflecting on their mood and reaction on a platform that gives clinicians the ability to assess the situation and progress treatment.

How: The company's first game, Sinasprite, uses Socks the Fox as a way to guide people through a prescribed course of mental health treatment as a way to stay on track and lean on a resource to tackle obstacles in real time.

The game, first designed for the U.S. Army, is prescribed by a clinician or therapist — who can bill for prescribing the app — and augments other therapies, such as pharmaceutical, talk or cognitive.

People get attached to the fox and an in-app messaging system allows the clinician to push questions or comments to the patient, who may work on meditation or journals or create mood paintings.

It's not a game that requires competition; it's a world to help bring more peace or emotional outlets to people when they need it. Clinicians also see data and progress as a way to tailor future treatments.

"It’s more of a world you can go in and depend on a comforting place. We’re not creating high stakes,” said Sean Watson, creative director.

Clear Health Analytics

Headquarters: Stamford, Conn.

Problem: People don't understand health insurance. Many people waste money by buying more policy than they need or are underinsured because the plan doesn't cover what they need.

Goal: Give people, whether shopping for insurance or choosing between employer plans, the tools to calculate how much health insurance they need so they are not buying more or less policy than necessary.

How: It's developed a website — think a TurboTax-like program that is used before buying health insurance — that evaluates the conditions, demographics, history and other factors for a person or family to find the right plan from what's available.

Choosing a health insurance plan doesn't have to be guesswork, said Jennifer Sclar, CEO of Clear Health Analytics, who used to litigate health care payment disputes.

But most people don't understand how they use a plan or have the tools to assess the benefits under each plan to make the best informed choice. So it's estimated that 80 percent of people are spending $600 too much per person in their family on insurance per year because they don't have the right tools to find what's right for them, Sclar said.

“It’s impossible for a mere mortal to do that,” Sclar said, noting that she paid too much until she made a spreadsheet to account for expenses and benefits.

The company's software is used by Enroll America to help shoppers on the exchange and by some employers' human resource managers.

Health plans are only going to get more complicated, and Sclar wants to make sure people aren't blindly buying plans.

"Rather than try to educate people and make them all a mini Ph.D. in health insurance we really need to bottom line it for people to help everybody make a better decision," Sclar said. "That's a lot of money lost."

Belle

Headquarters: Nashville

Problem: Seniors with limited mobility or transportation have a hard time getting to beauty or fitness appointments, which can impact mental and emotional health as well as decrease flexibility.

Goal: Belle is a software that allows stylists, cosmetologists and fitness experts to schedule directly with clients who want services at home or another location, such as an assisted living facility.

How: Seniors emerged as a third of the company's business a year into its existence. Seniors, adult children and family, or caretakers were making appointments for hair, nail or fitness services for people who couldn't get out and about.

In-home services for seniors makes sense, said Belle founder Armand Lauzon, given the rate of people aging into Medicare eligibility every day — it's about 10,000 a day and called the "silver tsunami."

Demand for in-home services, both custodial and health care, is booming, and many companies are trying to fill those holes. But there aren't many companies offering the peripheral services, such as that standing hair appointment.

Belle, which is operational in the Greater Nashville area right now, ran into pushback from brick-and-mortar shops when it launched. The company is about to launch a separate website dedicated to services for older adults and is working on partnerships with senior living facilities to bring more stylists and fitness experts into the communities.

"Where I see a void is really happiness care, and that’s where I think we want to enable that type of care in an easier, meaningful way where we can provide basic human services that many times are just not possible right now,” Lauzon said.

Reach Holly Fletcher at hfletcher@tennessean.com or 615-259-8287 and on Twitter @hollyfletcher.